Cim Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cim Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $384,000. Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 209,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,780,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 125.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 313,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,653,000 after buying an additional 174,419 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,961,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 475.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 131,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,903,000 after acquiring an additional 108,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.91 on Thursday, hitting $100.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,173,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,243,944. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $103.59 and its 200-day moving average is $115.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.20.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.